The Foundation

Our Foundation was established in order to study and spread the thoughts of Jovellanos and to make them useful for the society of today. Thanks to the work of our predecessors, the highest academic peaks have been reached, and the reality of his thinking continues to shine. Our predecessors also tried to spread it beyond Gijón, Asturias and Spain.

The current Board of Patrons is going to continue on along this magnificent, inherited road. Current publications will continue, both the general ones and the academic, scientifically renowned ones. The International Research Award will continue its voyage. Our festivities: the Floral Offering to Jovellanos on 6^th of August and the Day of Jovellanos in the International Fair of Samples (Feria Internacional de Muestras), will be celebrated with joy.

The views of Jovellanos are the soul of the Foundation. Now that their interpretation has been consolidated, it is necessary to tackle the study of their influence in America and Europe, since their imprint in the creation of legislation for the states born in America in the 19^th Century is widely known. The way of thinking of Jovellanos also influenced other contemporary thinkers of the period that can be found at the root of current Europe.

Exegesis, however, is not enough. Thinkers do not exist to merely stay in a library, but to serve the human being. Thus is born our ambition of sharing the light that is the way of thinking of Jovellanos so that it helps us reach the goals of today. Our aim is to have the same wise scholars that once analyzed his work diligently propose now solutions under the guidance of his light: The light of Jovellanos, a light that is very suitable for a period of a crisis that is not only economic but, most of all, of morality and territorial uncertainty.

Ideas should fly free: they shouldn’t remain nor confined nor just in Gijón. That is why we aspire to spread them among the wise and the interested, whether or not they are from Asturias. This entails public acts, publications and a makeover of our Webpage, the latter being an essential element that needs to meet the quality and potency that this endeavor requires. Said endeavor also requires an active presence in social media, which we will also accomplish.

We don’t forget the goal of acquainting the young –even children– with the figure of Jovellanos, and that of remembering him through more mundane methods, from theater to music, as Jovellanos loved healthy recreation.

Our predecessors went to great lengths in order to preserve the work of the Foundation while keeping an austere base, given the current economic situation. Aware of this, we look for new “Friends”, as well as guardians and sponsors from the Civil Society, who can help us stay on course and tackle the new proposals.

That is why, keeping an eye on the past and with the eagerness of the present, with help from everyone, we await the future with hope.

Ignacio García-Arango Cienfuegos-Jovellanos

President of the Jovellanos Forum Foundation of the Principality of Asturias

Asturias, Spain, September, 2015